Metrorail attacks
Prasa, govt vow to respond to protesters' demands to improve public transport
Hundreds of workers from various industries marched to the Cape Town train station and Parliament on Thursday.
The union joined with lobby group #UniteBehind to call out Prasa for failing to pro-actively deal with the situation.
Four suspects were captured in the act on CCTV cameras and Prasa has issued an award of R100,000 to whoever finds them.
Metrorail says the number of sets has dropped because rail infrastructure is being vandalized and destroyed, and assets stolen.
Train services were thrown into disarray on Thursday after 18 train carriages were destroyed in a fire at Cape Town Train Station.
Tiffany Struwig, believed to be in her 20s, was reportedly stabbed in her arm and chest on Monday during an attempted robbery on a train travelling between Tygerberg and Bellville Stations.
At least 18 arrests have been over the past several days.
Metrorail's Riana Scott says commuters and members of the public should continue reporting crime, because the information leads to the identification of trends and hot spots.
Between October and January, the Rail Enforcement Unit conducted 133 joint operations which led to 66 arrests.
The unit is a joint initiative between the City of Cape Town, provincial government and the Passenger Rail Agency of South Africa.
Some commuter Facebook pages claim that the man was pushed off the train, while others say he was train surfing.
The City of Cape Town’s new Rail Enforcement Unit was deployed for the first time on Monday.
The City of Cape Town's JP Smith says 100 officers have undergone extensive training over the past few months.
Metrorail says an increase in security measures along the central line has led to a reduction in cable theft.
The unit will deal with incidents of vandalism and theft and will also increase visible policing along the rail network.
The officers will be deployed on the city’s central line first and will be on trains and platforms.
This is likely to happen should the Rail Safety Regulator revoke Prasa’s safety permit.
Nine men were robbed, assaulted and thrown out of a moving train between early last month.
In August, the committee asked Busisiwe Mkhwebane's office to intervene and probe issues like arson attacks on trains and unreliable services.